The Jardin d'Agronomie Tropicale (or Garden of Tropical Agriculture) in Paris has been left abandoned for the better part of the 1900s. But this is more than just a spooky, beautiful modern ruin; it has a strange, dark history.
First built in 1899, the garden was a place where scientists could experiment with plants and grow rare crossbreeds.
But in 1907, the garden was built into Exposition Coloniale, an exhibit that was meant to promote French Colonialism. Six villages were built, representing six different colonies owned by France: Morocco, Tunisia, Madagascar, Sudan, Indochine, and Congo. Each village was built to mimic the native lands, agriculture was shipped in, and visitors could buy knickknacks representative of each village. But it didn't end there. The curators actually brought in natives from these colonies and made them live in these fabricated homes, in mock-ups of their native dress, and put on shows while the public came and observed them. It was essentially a human zoo.
The "exhibit" was only open from May through October of 1907. When it was over, the "specimens" were sent home (although there seems to be some who believe the villagers were exploited into joining other human zoo attractions) and the garden quickly fell into disrepair. It was essentially abandoned until the city of Paris bought the garden in 2003 and re-opened it to the public in 2006. The buildings and "villages" are still off-limits, and while the Indochine pavillion is going to be turned into a museum, there are no plans for the refurbishment of the other buildings.
For more info, visit Atlas Obscura, MessyNessyChic, and Invisible Paris.